To the surprise of probably no hockey fan, the most hot-tempered goalie in the NHL was ejected after kick-starting a huge scrum… and he nearly fought the other team’s netminder on the way out.
The St. Louis Blues’ Jordan Binnington went after Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman after Hartman scored and clipped him while skating by. Binnington, who had already exchanged words with the Wild bench earlier in Wednesday’s game, took exception and struck Hartman with his stick hand. That touched off a huge scuffle as Hartman fell to the ice, a scrum that Wild goalie Marc-Andre Fleury – famously one of the league’s nice guys – tried to join.
Unfortunately for fans of goalie fights everywhere, the linesmen got between the two goaltenders and separated them before any punches were thrown.
Binnington received a match penalty for the incident, a penalty handed out to a player “who deliberately attempts or who deliberately injures an opponent.” Such penalties carry an automatic suspension from play pending review by NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.
Fleury and Binnington each received penalties for leaving the crease, as well, and Hartman also picked up an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for his role in the altercation.
Binnington, 29, broke onto the scene in 2019 and led the Blues to the Stanley Cup championship with incredible play. But his career since then has largely been defined by childish on-ice antics matched with increasingly poor play. Entering Wednesday his save percentage was a ghastly .894 and he led the league with 24 regulation losses.
His latest incident could earn him some further time on the sidelines.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Blues’ Jordan Binnington gets ejected, nearly fights Marc-Andre Fleury